Married high school teacher pleads guilty to 2 counts of consensual sex with teen student

A married former Virginia high school teacher pleaded guilty to having consensual sex with a teenage student.

Ashley Leigh Lewis Weber confessed on Friday (6 October) to two counts of having sex with the 15-year-old boy in 2016 after the school year had ended. The two counts each carry a 12-month jail term, but the case judge suspended the sentence on one of the counts.

However, prosecutors expect she will only serve six months of prison time because defendants in misdemeanour cases often only serve 50% of their sentence, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

The 31-year-old married woman had also admitted to using a communication device to offer sex, but that charge was dropped due to her pleading guilty to the other charges.

The former Freeman High School teacher had met the boy during the 2015-16 school year. The teacher is said to have taken the boy to her parents' home in Henrico, where they had sex, Stacey T Davenport, an assistant commonwealth's attorney, said.

Weber — listed on the Freeman High School website as a history teacher — was charged in August after Henrico Police said they got a report of an inappropriate relationship between a juvenile and a woman.

She was then granted a $5,000 (£3817) bond on the two misdemeanour counts and one felony charge and was ordered to stay with her mother during the bond period.

Calling out the former teacher, Judge Margaret W Deglau said: "This was victimisation. You are a person who could have made a great change in his life, positive change."

Deglau also ordered Weber not to contact the victim. When asked if she wanted to address the court, Weber declined. She was taken into custody following her court appearance.

Meanwhile, Andy Jenks, a spokesman for Henrico Public Schools, refused to comment when asked whether Weber would return to the school when classes begin in the fall. He added that it would be improper to comment further at this time.